Fire Risk Assessment UK: Duties, Rules & 2023 Changes

At a glance

• Legal duty: every non-domestic premises in England and Wales must have a fire safety risk assessment under the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005.
• Who holds the duty: the 'responsible person' — usually the employer, or whoever has control of the building (owner, landlord, managing agent, occupier).
• Written record required for every premises: from 1 October 2023, section 156 of the Building Safety Act 2022 removed the old five-employee threshold — all findings must now be recorded in writing, whoever you are.
• The process: the standard five-step method — identify hazards, identify people at risk, evaluate and reduce the risk, record findings and train staff, then review regularly.
• Enforcement: fire and rescue authorities can issue alterations, enforcement or prohibition notices. Breach of key duties is a criminal offence under article 32 of the Order, carrying an unlimited fine and, in the most serious cases, up to two years' imprisonment.
• Residential blocks: the Fire Safety Act 2021 confirmed the assessment must cover external walls, structure and flat entrance doors in buildings with two or more homes; the Fire Safety (England) Regulations 2022 add further duties, with extra rules for high-rise buildings.
• England and Wales only: Scotland and Northern Ireland have separate fire safety regimes.

What is a fire safety risk assessment?

A fire safety risk assessment is a structured review of a premises that looks at how a fire could start, who could be harmed, and what needs to be in place to keep people safe. It is required by the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 for every non-domestic premises in England and Wales, and for the common parts of buildings containing two or more homes.

The assessment covers sources of ignition, flammable materials, escape routes, alarms, emergency lighting, firefighting equipment, signage, and how people would actually leave the building in an emergency. Since the Fire Safety Act 2021 came into force, it must also expressly cover the structure, external walls (including cladding and balconies) and individual flat entrance doors of any building with two or more sets of domestic premises.

It is not a tick-box exercise. Fire and rescue authorities can inspect at any time, and failings can lead to enforcement notices, prosecution, or in the most serious cases imprisonment. This guide covers England and Wales; Scotland and Northern Ireland have their own separate regimes.

Who is the 'responsible person'?

The duty sits with the 'responsible person'. In most workplaces this is the employer. In other premises, gov.uk guidance confirms it is whoever has control of the building or part of it — which could be an owner, occupier, landlord, managing agent or facilities manager.

In shared or multi-let buildings there can be several responsible persons, each covering their own part. Article 22 of the Order requires them to co-operate and share information so the whole building is covered, and since October 2023 each must also tell the others their name and a UK address for service, and keep a record of which part of the premises they are responsible for.

If you are appointing someone to help carry out or review the assessment, article 9A (inserted by the 2022 Act) requires that person to be competent — meaning they have sufficient training, experience, knowledge or other qualities to properly assist — and if you appoint more than one assistant, you must make arrangements to ensure they co-operate with each other.

What changed on 1 October 2023

Section 156 of the Building Safety Act 2022 amended the Fire Safety Order with effect from 1 October 2023 in England (and the same date in Wales). This is one of the most significant practical changes to the fire risk assessment duty since the Order was made, and it catches many smaller businesses who previously fell outside the recording requirement.

• All findings must now be recorded, for every premises. Previously, only employers with five or more staff, licensed premises, or premises with an alterations notice in force had to put the "significant findings" in writing. Article 9 was amended to remove that threshold and the word "significant" — every responsible person must now make a written record of the assessment, including all the findings, not a curated subset.
• Fire safety arrangements must be recorded. Article 11 was amended so that every responsible person, regardless of size, must record how fire safety is managed on the premises — not just larger employers as before.
• Competence duty for assistants. New article 9A requires anyone appointed to help with the assessment to be competent, with co-operation arrangements if more than one is appointed.
• Information to residents. New article 21A requires responsible persons in buildings with two or more sets of domestic premises to give residents comprehensible information about the risks identified, the preventive and protective measures in place, and who the responsible person is — and to keep records of this.
• Handover duty. New article 22A requires an outgoing responsible person to pass relevant fire safety information, including assessment records, to their successor.
• Penalties increased. Article 32 previously capped certain administrative and recording offences at a level 3 fine (£1,000). That cap was removed, so those offences can now attract an unlimited fine, bringing them into line with the Order's more serious offences.

If your fire risk assessment predates October 2023 and only records the "significant findings," it is worth checking it against the current wording of article 9 — a short informal record kept because you had fewer than five staff is very likely no longer sufficient.

The five steps

The standard method, reflected in gov.uk's 5-step checklist, is as follows.

1. Identify the fire hazards. Go through every area systematically and note anything that could start a fire (heaters, electrics, cooking equipment, smoking areas, hot works) and anything that would help it spread (paper storage, packaging, furnishings, flammable liquids). Do not forget roof spaces, basements, plant rooms and external storage — and, for residential blocks, the external wall construction and cladding.
2. Identify people at risk. Think beyond employees. Consider visitors, customers, contractors, cleaners working out of hours, disabled users, lone workers, and anyone sleeping on site. People unfamiliar with the layout, or who need help to evacuate, need specific thought.
3. Evaluate, remove or reduce the risk. For each hazard, decide whether it can be removed entirely. Where it cannot, reduce the risk to the lowest reasonably practicable level, using a combination of physical measures (fire doors, alarms, extinguishers, emergency lighting, signage) and management measures (training, drills, maintenance, housekeeping).
4. Record your findings, prepare an emergency plan and provide training. Write down all the findings — not just the significant ones — prepare an emergency plan, and make sure everyone on the premises knows what to do. Since October 2023 this record must also cover your fire safety arrangements more generally.
5. Review and update regularly. The assessment must be kept under review and revised whenever it is no longer valid, or there has been a significant change: building works, a change of use, new equipment, more staff, a near-miss, or an actual fire. Keep records of tests, drills and maintenance alongside the assessment.

Enforcement and penalties

Fire and rescue authorities enforce the Order through inspection. Depending on what they find, they can give informal advice, or issue an alterations notice, an enforcement notice requiring specified improvements, or a prohibition notice restricting or stopping use of all or part of the premises where risk is judged serious enough.

Breach of key duties — including failing to carry out or record a suitable fire risk assessment — is a criminal offence under article 32 of the Order. Where the offence puts someone at risk of death or serious injury, conviction on indictment can carry an unlimited fine, imprisonment for up to two years, or both; on summary conviction the maximum is an unlimited fine. From 1 October 2023, the previous level 3 (£1,000) cap on certain lesser recording and administrative offences under article 32 was also removed, so those can now carry an unlimited fine too. Beyond the legal exposure, insurers can decline to pay out after a fire if the responsible person has ignored the duty.

Does this apply to homes, HMOs and residential blocks?

The Fire Safety Order covers non-domestic premises and the common parts of multi-occupied residential buildings. Individual private dwellings are generally outside it, but houses in multiple occupation (HMOs), blocks of flats, guest accommodation and short-term lets are normally within scope for their shared areas, structure and external walls.

The Fire Safety (England) Regulations 2022 add further duties for many residential blocks — including providing residents with fire safety and evacuation information and checking fire doors — with additional requirements, such as monthly checks on lifts and firefighting equipment, for high-rise residential buildings (broadly, at least 18 metres or seven storeys). See gov.uk's guidance on the 2022 Regulations for the detail relevant to your building.

Practical next steps

1. Confirm who the responsible person is for your premises, and for each shared part of a multi-let building.
2. Check whether your existing assessment meets the post-October-2023 recording rules — all findings, not just significant ones, plus a record of your fire safety arrangements.
3. Work through the five steps methodically, or appoint a competent assessor if the premises are larger, more complex, or include sleeping accommodation.
4. Keep the written record accessible and be ready to hand it, along with fire safety arrangements records, to a successor responsible person if control of the premises changes.
5. Set a review date and bring it forward immediately after any significant change to the building, its use, or its occupants.
6. Read the current gov.uk and legislation.gov.uk guidance before relying on any older summary — the October 2023 changes caught many businesses that were previously exempt from recording.

This page provides general information about fire safety risk assessment duties in England and Wales. It is not legal advice and is not a substitute for advice tailored to your specific premises. The law described was accurate as at July 2026 and is subject to change — always check gov.uk and legislation.gov.uk for the current position.

Last reviewed: July 2026 by a non-practising solicitor · Next review due: July 2027 or on legislative change.